The Passion of Slow Fire

The Passion of Slow Fire, originally released as La Mort de Belle, is a French crime film directed by Édouard Molinaro. Adapted from Georges Simenon's novel of the same name, the picture was scripted by the celebrated writer Jean Anouilh. Jean Desailly heads the cast, with Alexandra Stewart and Jacques Monod among the supporting players. The film belongs to the early phase of Molinaro's directing career, years before he became widely known for his popular comedies. Rooted in the world of one of crime fiction's most prolific authors, it carries the hallmarks of classic French crime cinema, bringing Simenon's tense storytelling to the screen. Shot in French, the black-and-white-era production runs to roughly ninety minutes and stands as a solid example of the crime pictures France produced around the turn of the 1960s.